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Although inVISIBLEwomen is not a museum, the campaign is affiliated to the International Association of Women’s Museums. IAWM exists to bring together groups and projects working to enhance women’s visibility in the cultural field worldwide.

Have you ever

- wondered why there are so many public statues of men
and so few of women?

- considered what message that sends about the value placed on women and men?

- dreamed of what it might be like to experience equality?

- wished you could do something about that?

If the answer is 'yes' to any of the above, then
inVISIBLEwomen.org.uk is for you.

Latest posts

inVISIBLEwomen is a catalyst for changing the status quo of gender
imbalance in public monuments in the UK.

This site is taking a look at why it has been the case for so long and
considers what kinds of solutions will best address the problem.
This is the place to take part in building a clear statistical picture of
the situation nationally and discover some practical solutions with
artists' work to commission and some successes, both past and present to
celebrate.

"Behind every great man there is a woman"

How long have we been hearing that backhanded tribute? And where would
all those great men be without their mothers, sisters, wives, lovers and
servants, without the essential but unseen support that paves the way that
men stride along to achieve their greatness?

Equally true then, to say that in front of every great woman there is a man,
or several men - possibly an entire 2000 year old patriarchy - getting in her
way. In effect, rendering her invisible.

This persistent lack of recognition is nowhere more clearly and publicly
marked than in the gender imbalance in civic statues. Judging by the
majority of public monuments in the UK you might think that the only
people worth honouring are old white men, often in official regalia,
sometimes on a horse, possibly with a weapon, a book or a treaty to mark
their military, intellectual or political feats. By contrast, female figures are
largely semi-clad, often reclining, and typically depict a maternal, saintly or
sexualised image of womanhood, rather than worldly achievements.

It is time to actively challenge these outdated images of gender. For
centuries patriarchy has conveniently cast women in the role of society's
'ghost writers': doing the work, but getting no civic acknowledgement of all
their essential contributions. Today's women know themselves to be the
authors of their own lives, and this needs to be reflected in our public
monuments. The lives and achievements of both the remarkable and the
everyday women deserve equal recognition to those of men. It is time for all
these "invisible" women to be made visible. Time for us to reinvent the
message of the suffragettes, time now for: